As previously reported, the Galaxy S III Mini packs in a 1GHz dual-core processor, 4" WVGA Super AMOLED display, a 5MP rear-facing camera (VGA front-facing camera for video conferencing), and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The smartphone will come with a 1,500 mAh battery and includes FM radio support. One big omission, however, is LTE connectivity.

Compared to the powerhouse Galaxy S III, its little brother is definitely not quite up to par.

“The GALAXY S III introduced a new concept of smartphone that has proven hugely popular around the world. We’re now delighted to bring its revolutionary design, intuitive usability and intelligence to the GALAXY S III mini in a more compact form,” said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “We continue to make every effort to provide extraordinary mobile experiences to meet a wide variety of user needs.”

I read the article... It doesnt mention the iPhone, it just says "“The GALAXY S III introduced a new concept of smartphone that has proven hugely popular around the world. We’re now delighted to bring its revolutionary design, intuitive usability and intelligence to the GALAXY S III mini in a more compact form,” "

In other words, here is a smaller low end phone for those that dont care to pay high end prices for a high end Phone. the price tag agrees. Its NOT an iPhone competitor. Its like saying a Honda Accord is a competitor to a BMW 5 series. No, its not. Honda has the Acura TL that more directly competes. Samsumg has the GS3 that competes with the iPhone, the mini is just a cheap alternative like the Accord.